


listen

by peachydreamies



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Donghyuck plays the clarinet, Jeno plays the piano, No Romance, Renjun plays the cello, The softest boys, classical music is important, just cute memories, just fluff, there isn't even a relationship, they just wanna play music for the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 06:20:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17678093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachydreamies/pseuds/peachydreamies
Summary: in which renjun, jeno and donghyuck play beethoven's piano trio in b-flat major at a youth conference for the london philharmonic orchestra.





	listen

**Author's Note:**

> this is actually a piece that was inspired by a piece of classical music, so it's only right that I include that piece :) i'll include the link to the exact piece i was listening to so that you can experience it, too. i have two options for whichever is the easiest for you :)
> 
> ↳ [Spotify!](https://open.spotify.com/track/1AK1EGKIUYjVV6ETfGK20l?si=VLOYAvoGQ_iPxy0VY51zgg)  
> ↳ [Youtube!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9VO4d0SQ3M)
> 
> Start playing at the line “ _Renjun took another breath and began playing the piece…_ ”, read and enjoy :)

\--

For what certainly wouldn’t be the last time, Renjun’s heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest and fly straight out of the packed concert hall.

He dared peek from the side of the heavy burgundy curtain in the wings and had to stifle a squeak of dread when he saw the sheer amount of people sitting in the audience, excitement buzzing in the air in an unfamiliar tongue and faces turned towards the stage expectantly. Renjun tapped his foot nervously for a minute and almost made to bolt out of the hall when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder and a soft voice in his ear.

“It’ll all be fine, _Injun_. Don’t worry.” Renjun turned his head to look into the warm eyes of his best friend, Lee Jeno, and he nodded, almost dazedly, as he turned away from him. His brain was a mess of hazy anxieties and he could hardly hear anything anyone was saying, but he focused on the sound of his friend’s deep voice and let it calm his racing heart. He knew the younger boy was just as anxious about this important performance as he was, but was significantly better at hiding it. For good measure, Renjun took his hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze, to which Jeno returned with a grateful smile.

His second best friend, Donghyuck, appeared by his other side and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“You know this music, Renjun- you’ve practiced it for months,” he said, his dark eyes shining with something akin to admiration. “If nothing else, listen to the music.” Renjun gave Donghyuck a tight smile, and squeezed his hand as well, perhaps as a way to give himself reassurance this time. The three boys stood in a small circle and muttered comforting words to each other in the few moments left before showtime, but all too soon, the stage manager was tapping Renjun’s shoulder, signaling that they had to go on. 

Someone carefully handed him his cello and his stomach flipped at the sound of hundreds of people all applauding at once. He tried to ignore his stomach forcing its way up his throat, and swallowed hard as the three of them walked out onto the illuminated stage. 

As Renjun walked to the center, he felt himself shrink in the eye of hundreds of rapturous audience members. The stage felt impossibly large- like it could swallow him whole- but he ignored his thumping heart and gave a short bow to the audience and sat in his chair on the stage. “ _Listen to the music,_ ” he thought and shot a quick glance to both of his friends, sitting and watching him expectantly. Renjun plucked a string, testing the pitch as he exhaled a deep breath and then nodded as he placed his bow on the strings of his cello. The audience was silent as they waited for him to play- so quiet that you hear the traffic outside in the brisk winter air. Renjun took another breath and began playing the piece, pretending that he was simply playing for the two most important people in his life- that it was just him and Donghyuck and Jeno on that impossibly large stage.

Fortunately, the first notes came easily, and it was like his whole body relaxed. “ _Listen to the music,_ ” he heard Donghyuck say into his ear and it was like the music wrapped him in a warm embrace. Renjun felt all of his anxieties melt away in the soothing timbre of his cello and he listened as Jeno expertly accompanied him with the deep notes from his magnificent grand piano. It was a comforting feeling, knowing his best friend was alongside him. He felt the weight of his cello against his thin frame and allowed it to ground him to his seat and keep him from floating away in fear. 

Donghyuck soon joined them and then, it was just the three of them playing again. There were no watching eyes, no attentive audience members- just him and Jeno and Donghyuck. Renjun closed his eyes as he let the soothing music carry him through the hall and over the heads of the audience. He always lost himself in the music, became shut off from the rest of those watching, and this occasion was no different, despite the hundreds of eyes drilling holes into the three boys on the stage. With the sound of a beautiful trill from Jeno, Renjun let his mind wander with the melodious music and allowed his imagination to blossom. 

Suddenly, he was looking at himself, at 5 years old, when he first picked up a cello. He was so tiny, and the cello was probably the same size as him, but nonetheless, tiny Renjun held the bow clumsily in his pudgy hand and screeched out a few notes. They were unpleasant to the ear- hardly notes at all- but tiny Renjun’s face lit up in a grin as he continued to pluck the strings. Renjun could remember the way the vibrations from the strings excited him then, just as they did now, and he felt his heart soar into the next memory. 

This time he was in a music store, holding his mother’s hand and standing next to a raven-haired boy at a piano. The boy played a simple melody and Renjun watched with awe as he plunked out a few extra notes and then turned to him, with the brightest smile lighting up his face. He waved a small hand and said, “Hi! I’m Jeno!” They were both eight at the time, and as soon as the two of them started talking in that dingy music store, Renjun knew he’d found his best friend.

Then with small Jeno’s laugh, a different scene unfolded in front of him, and this time he was standing in his fourth-grade music classroom, completely enraptured with a golden-haired boy playing the clarinet. His cheeks were puffed with the effort it took to emit any kind of sound, but when he did, it was beautiful. The fourth graders were easily impressed, but Renjun knew from that moment that he had to be the golden-haired boy’s friend, so he ran up after and introduced himself and Jeno. That was the moment he met his second best friend, Donghyuck.

Soon, a steady flow of memories of practicing in his basement and playing at school concerts and being congratulated by teachers flew by Renjun’s eyes. Years and years of training to be where he was sitting now, and he dared wake out of his nostalgic thoughts to peek at his two friends. 

He felt the music bloom beneath his feet as the strings vibrated against his fingers and it was a comforting feeling, a familiar one he’d felt for the last 12 years. It was just like old times, just him and Jeno and Donghyuck in his basement, creating new melodies and relishing in their beauty. He could see Jeno’s fingers dancing delicately across the keys as he played for the audience whose eyes were set intently on the raven-haired boy. He was lost in the music, too- his eyes alight with a passion that Renjun had seen many times in the 11 years he’d known him. He smiled to himself as he dared glance at the boy to his right. The golden-haired boy whose cheeks were still puffed with the effort to keep his breath steady, but whose body was relaxed and languid as if he was simply playing on a Sunday afternoon. Renjun felt his chest swell with pride as he listened to the harmonious sound of their instruments together. This was something the three of them had done themselves. 

He closed his eyes again, and now he was sitting on a couch, but this time it was just him and Donghyuck. Jeno was nowhere to be found, and Donghyuck’s usually bright face was cast in a frown. 

“ _Where is he?_ ” the golden-haired boy asked, and Renjun saw his fifteen-year-old self shrug. 

“ _Probably with Jaemin,_ ” he responded and scoffed. Donghyuck shook his head and Renjun felt a pang of envy. He knew it was selfish of him to expect Jeno to always be by their side, but… he was Renjun’s first- he was _his Jeno_ first. 

He looked up as Donghyuck scoffed and stomped up the stairs, leaving fifteen-year-old Renjun on the couch, sad and confused. 

But then- it was ok, because all three boys were sitting in a triangle, facing each other as they chose to learn Beethoven’s _Piano Trio in B-Flat Major_ \- a piece that both of their music professors told them was too challenging, one that they had been advised against and told repeatedly that they could never do. And at first, they were right. It was incredibly difficult- a piece that demanded time and effort that the three boys didn’t have, a piece that often resulted in tears and loud voices raised in anger and sometimes even slammed doors, a piece that easily could have broken those three up. But the boys always ended back in their triangle, whispering hushed apologies to each other and giving tight hugs. It was always ok in the end.

And sure enough, months and months of dedication paid off. Renjun was flown into a new memory- this one that carried him to his kitchen, opening a letter from the London Philharmonic Orchestra with shaking hands and beating hearts; a letter that had to be read multiple times by each boy. A letter that was asking them- three boys, from a performing arts school in South Korea- to play at a youth showcase in London. It was beyond anything Renjun could have ever imagined. He saw himself run to Jeno and Donghyuck and grab them in tight hugs, gripping them with excitement. He saw eighteen-year-old Renjun wipe the tears streaming down Jeno’s face- Lee Jeno, who never cried, who never shed a tear- with his thumb and cup Donghyuck’s face in his hands and press kisses all over their faces with joy. This was a moment they had been dreaming of for their entire lives- to play at the London Philharmonic in front of hundreds of people. Renjun could feel the excitement in the room, and despite himself, he smiled. 

Another trill from Donghyuck’s clarinet and he soared into a new memory, this time he watched the clouds pass by the plane window as the three boys traveled to London. He saw eighteen-year-old Renjun look over at his slumbering friends with the fondest look in his eyes- a gaze so fond that it made Renjun’s own heart crumble. He knew how much he loved Jeno and Donghyuck, but now it was even more apparent. 

Past Renjun turned back to the window and sat with his chin in his hand, watching as the sun set and the city lights flickered on in the horizon. Renjun remembered hardly being able to sleep despite the long flight, so he watched past Renjun open a small brown journal and doodle simple drawings of his sleeping friends, then writing short poems next to each drawing. He watched as past him imagined the endless possibilities of London and the anticipation of performing in front such a new and foreign audience. Renjun could see the hesitation in his own eyes and the subconscious fear that he’d ruin this once in a lifetime opportunity, but when past Renjun glanced at his friends again, he could see the comfort he sought from their presence, too, and knew that everything would be alright. 

As the plane landed, he was brought out of his reverie by the last few reverberating notes from Jeno’s piano, and as he raised his head, he was shocked by the sound of tumultuous applause and cheers from the audience, who were all standing out of their seats. Renjun looked over at Jeno, whose eyes were shining bright with pride at his two friends and looked as if tears were threatening to spill over again and he looked at Donghyuck, who hardly even attempted to hide the tears streaming down his cheeks. Renjun stood out of his chair and his two friends followed, and as they bowed, he felt his heart soar with the sound of the cheers from the audience. 

For what felt like the thousandth time that night, Renjun’s heart was pounding in his throat as he suppressed tears of pride and gratitude and, as he grabbed his friends’ hands to bow again, he hoped it would never be the last.

**Author's Note:**

> this is the very first piece of mine that i've ever posted _ever_ and i'm kind of nervous lol but i'd really appreciate some feedback! if something doesn't make sense please let me know- i want everything to flow as smoothly as possible! also, i apologize if there are any grammatical, spelling or formatting errors!! i read it as many times as i could to make sure there weren't any mistakes!
> 
> thank you so much for reading; i hope you enjoyed! :))
> 
> \--
> 
> Come talk to me!  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/peachydreamies)  
> [Tumblr](http://sunshine-dreamies.tumblr.com/)


End file.
